18 Best Crime Movies on Netflix Right Now
Never before have detective stories been so twisted: the rise of crime fiction has brought real-life murders and investigations into our living rooms, and films like Knives Out have revived cozy, funny, and often satirical detective stories that make murder comfortable and even a little fun. Looking ahead, Netflix is set to release a stellar adaptation of Richard Osman’s Thursday Night Murder Investigation Club . The book, about a group of amateur sleuths trying to solve a murder in their nursing home, has become something of a mini-phenomenon in its own right. A fifth book in the series is already on the way, providing more than enough material for future installments in the epic.
The point is that detective is not only a genre (an extremely popular one), but also a medium that can combine a variety of styles: comedy, horror, sci-fi, etc., and all of them are represented in Netflix projects. If you are looking for your next favorite detective, then look no further.
Evil Little Letters (2023)
Wicked Little Letters is a dark comedy based on a true story set in the 1920s. It stars the always phenomenal Olivia Colman as Edith Swan, a devout and rather dull woman from Littlehampton, dominated by her overbearing father and quiet mother. Edith receives more than a dozen letters full of shocking abuse – a bit like obscene phone calls through the post. When the police get involved, they naturally suspect neighbour Rose (Jessie Buckley), a foul-mouthed single mother who is, not surprisingly, an immigrant. There are no bodies here, and you’ll probably solve the mystery pretty quickly, but Colman and Buckley are incredibly funny as foils.Watch Wicked Little Letters .
Pale Blue Eye (2022)
It’s a gripping (and twisted) story that plays on real events with brisk, breezy action while still creating a cold, oppressive atmosphere. Christian Bale plays a troubled retired detective who teams up with a young West Point cadet you may have heard of: His name is Edgar Allan Poe, and he’s played here by Harry Melling (who’s great — and yes, Poe did go to West Point for a while). They team up to solve the case of a hanged cadet who’s presumed to have committed suicide, at least until it turns out the young man has no heart and is carrying a note inviting him to a cult meeting.Watch The Pale Blue Eye .
Enola Holmes (2020)
Her brother Sherlock was no stranger to fighting from time to time, but as we learn, it was his sister, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown), who really stirred things up. With the help and training of their mother, Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), of course. Enola sets out to find that missing mom, always ahead of her older brother (Henry Cavill). It all leads to a mystery that threatens the entire country, and a pretty exciting sequel.Watch Enola Holmes .
Shimmering Lake (2017)
This whodunit opens on Friday, with Andy (Rainn Wilson) hiding in a basement while his wife tries to apprehend his brother Zeke (Benjamin Walker), who is also the sheriff. Andy, who is hiding with a bag of money, will die before the day is out, but we are taken back in time: writer-director Oren Uziel’s narration takes us to Thursday, and then to each day before that, until we understand how everyone got where they are. It works (mostly), and since noir usually hinges on our protagonist’s doom, knowing the ending doesn’t spoil the story at all.Shimmering Lake Creek .
Luther: Fallen Sun (2023)
A sequel to the British crime series starring Idris Elba, but also a standalone film, the film follows disgraced and imprisoned former Detective Chief Inspector John Luther as he is being stalked by a serial killer (Andy Serkis) who he is almost certain can only be stopped if Luther escapes from prison and tracks him down. If you have seen the series, this is a must-watch. If not, now is the time to see Elba do his best morally-challenged detective work, with Serkis as his terrifying nemesis.Watch Falling Sun .
Assassination of Mubarak (2024)
Based on the novel Stabbing You to Death by Anuja Chauhan (a much better title), this adaptation follows Pankaj Tripathi as Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhawani Singh, a slightly eccentric, simple, Columbo-esque detective who is assigned to investigate a murder at the Royal Delhi Club, a legacy of the British Raj where the city’s richest and most arrogant hangouts gather. The morning after the club’s biggest party of the year, the club’s popular trainer is found dead under his own weights, setting off an investigation that leads to the uncovering of many hidden secrets and connections. The film is a bit long, but its light tone and elements of class satire lift it.Watch Killing Mubarak .
7 Women and Murder (2021)
There are hints of Agatha Christie in this Italian film imported from the US – a sort of locked house detective story that follows Susanna home to her family’s mansion. Arriving earlier than expected, the maid goes to wake her father – only to discover that he has been murdered in the night. Outside, a snowstorm rages, and the six women of the house and the father’s glamorous mistress from next door find that the phone lines have been cut and the car has been wrecked. All the suspects, each with a host of secrets and motives for the murder, have gathered in one place; all that remains is to piece together the clues to find out who killed dear dad. Despite the death, the film is light and colourful. It’s also surprisingly fast-paced – just under 90 minutes.Watch 7 Women and a Murder .
Caught on the hook (2021)
Magda (Anna Smolowik) is a housewife and a fan of detective stories. She gets caught up in a murder investigation when she stumbles upon a corpse while out for a walk. The woman is wearing a necklace belonging to Magda’s best friend, who disappeared 15 years ago. Dissatisfied with the success of the police inspector assigned to the investigation, the resourceful woman takes matters into her own hands, beating a real detective at his own game. This Polish series is not a comedy, but Magda’s enthusiasm keeps things from getting too heavy.Watch “The Killing.”
Glass Onion: Knives Out (2022)
After making the excellent detective-comedy Knives Out, writer-director Rian Johnson is back with a sequel that almost surpasses the original and certainly surpasses it in scope and scale. Daniel Craig returns as the slow-burning but quick-witted detective Benoit Blanc, this time sent to a billionaire’s island and, as expected, faced with a slew of murders to solve. Like the original, the film combines brisk pacing and hilariously eccentric characters with sharp social satire. The supporting cast includes an all-star roster of A-listers, and two cameos mark the final screen appearances of Stephen Sondheim and Angela Lansbury. A second sequel, Wake Up Dead , is out in December. WatchGlass Onion .
I’m the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
In the fast-paced, chilling, and effective gothic mystery I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Ruth Wilson plays a nurse who comes to believe that the creaky old house where she works for a former horror writer (Paula Prentiss) is haunted. The film is less concerned with immediate shock and fear than it is with making you feel like you’re in the creepy house. Director Osgood Perkins has made a string of truly creepy thrillers in a variety of genres, including Long Legs and Ape .WatchI Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House .
Lost Girls (2020)
Based on the true events surrounding the horrific Gilgo Beach serial murders, Lost Girls stars Marie Gilbert (Amy Ryan) in the title role. The film follows Marie Gilbert, who, after what was initially thought to be an accidental death of her daughter, pressured the Long Island police to investigate more thoroughly. As the film begins, the case remains unsolved, but the focus is on Gilbert herself and the police’s reluctance to investigate further, even as the body count begins to mount. This is an impressive dramatic debut from documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus.Watch Lost Girls .
Murder Mystery (2019)
Reuniting with their Just Go With It co-stars , Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler play married couple Audrey and Nick Spitz. He’s an NYPD cop, she’s a hairdresser, but as you can quickly guess, she’s at least as good at investigating as he is when the bodies start dropping. The middle-class couple are traveling through Europe when they meet a billionaire (Luke Evans), who invites them to hang out on his yacht. It all sounds great until the guy’s uncle (the late, great Terence Stamp) turns up dead, and Audrey and Nick are accused. What else but to find the real killer among a wildly eclectic and eccentric group of suspects?Watch Murder Mystery .
The Woman in the Window (2021)
With nods to Hitchcock ’s Rear Window , this particular mystery thriller with window elements stars Amy Adams as Dr. Anna Fox, a child psychologist who also suffers from deep agoraphobia and spends most of her time alone in her Manhattan townhouse after separating from her husband. If you already guessed that she’s spying on the neighbors, you’d be right, and if you also guessed that she’s witnessing what she thinks is a murder (featuring Gary Oldman and Jennifer Jason Leigh), you’ve come to the right place. Things get even more confusing when the neighbor shows up with a brand-new wife (Julianne Moore), and of course Dr. Fox begins to fear for her safety. What the hell is going on across the street? Directed by Joe Wright ( Atonement ). WatchThe Woman in the Window .
Miracle (2022)
It’s not about murder, it’s about faith. Florence Pugh gives a brilliant performance as Lib Wright, an English nurse sent to an Irish village after the Great Famine. Young Anna O’Donnell, according to her family, has been fasting for eight months without showing any signs of illness. Lib, still grieving the death of her young daughter, must uncover the truth about a situation that ultimately places her at the center of increasingly disturbing family secrets.Watch Wonder .
Chalk Line (2022)
Many of these detectives are light, funny, even cozy – but none of that applies to The Chalk Line , a detective story that becomes increasingly disturbing as the story unfolds. This Spanish thriller tells the story of a mysterious girl found in the middle of the road, undocumented and seemingly unable to speak or otherwise reveal her identity. A couple takes the girl in to raise her, trying to integrate her into their family while unraveling the mystery of her past. WatchThe Chalk Line .
In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
This sci-fi/mystery mash-up begins in the year 2024 (the film came out in 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago) before jumping back to 1988 to meet police officer Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook) and his partner Maddox (Bokeem Woodbine), who are investigating the unexplained deaths of several people who suddenly start bleeding. They get a lead on the culprit, a woman (Cleopatra Coleman) who seems to know a lot about the future. Ten years later, an obvious copycat shows up, and our detectives realize there’s something stranger going on than they imagined.Watch In the Shadow of the Moon .
They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Another sci-fi mystery, though not as heavy as In the Shadow of the Moon . This genre mash-up stars John Boyega as Fontaine, a drug dealer in a world this side of ours (with some Blaxploitation influences in his looks and style). After a showdown with former pimp of the year Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is shot dead before waking up in his bed — and apparently nothing has changed. Teaming up with Slick Charles and prostitute Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), he leads the three into an unusual web of scientific conspiracy to figure out what the hell is going on (the title will certainly give you a clue).Watch They Cloned Tyrone .
The Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019)
A mystery set in and around Niagara Falls, The Vanishing at Clifton Hill stars Tuppence Middleton as Abby, a young woman who returns home to take over the family-run hotel she inherited in a tourist area. She hopes to save the family business, but her return home has also triggered memories of an abduction she’s pretty sure she witnessed in the area as a child. Or maybe she’s just completely insane, as we quickly begin to suspect. Niagara Falls, Ontario, in real life and on film, is an unsettling mix of tacky tourist trap and insular small town, an atmosphere the film captures beautifully, in part by surrounding Abby with a cast of eccentric characters (including a podcaster played by David Cronenberg). This unusual tone carries the film forward to several unexpected twists in the final act.Stream The Vanishing at Clifton Hill .